I am way past the video game t-shirt stage of my life, but I suppose they are still worth peeking at from time to time. In this case, we are treated to an early look of the protagonist for the next Assassin’s Creed game: his name is Ba Yek, and his choice equipment appears to be a shield and bow. I can barely tell if that is a hood, or if that’s actually his hair.



Alongside the name, we also get our best-yet look at the character, who was partially obscured in the leaked screenshot. We mostly see his back, but Ba Yek can be seen holding both a shield and a bow. Ubisoft’s Ashraf Ismail, who was a director on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, appeared to remark on the leak today, writing on Twitter, “Nice t-shirt.” Ismail lists himself as game director on an “unannounced project,” which could be in reference to the new Assassin’s Creed. The members of its development team have not yet been announced.

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – New Assassin’s Creed Protagonist Seemingly Leaked by T-Shirt

Not too long ago, torrents were the go-to channel for pirated content, but streaming has recently emerged as a popular alternative that is threatening the concept of downloading and sharing. Beyond the surface argument of what is more convenient and preferable lies the interesting conundrum of how each actually affects piracy: streaming largely depends on torrenting to thrive, yet amusingly, streaming platforms are the bigger targets due to their similarity with popular services such as Netflix. Thanks to Kyle for this one.



Users of streaming sites will correctly argue that with no uploading, they are much safer than their torrenting counterparts. Torrent users, on the other hand, note that their participation in uploading helps to provide content to others. Torrent users are effectively a plus to the piracy ecosystem, while streamers (if we refer to them in torrent terms) are merely leechers. There’s a whole generation of streaming consumers coming through today who literally have no idea about the concept of sharing. They do not understand where the content comes from, nor do they care. This lack of ‘pirate education’ could eventually present a negative for content availability.

Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – To Torrent or to Stream? That Is the Big Piracy Question

Newegg Business Deals of the Day in [H]otDeals.

Source: [H]ardOCP – Newegg Business Deals of the Day – 5/30/2017

Impression Products, Inc. has triumphed over Lexmark in a case that could have resulted in greedy companies limiting what could be done with a product even after purchase. Ruling in favor of the little guy 8-0 or 7-1, the highest court explained that extending patent rights beyond the first sale would have clogged the channels of commerce, and little benefit would result from the extra control provided. Thanks to modi123 for pointing this out in the original topic.



“Lexmark pushes its patent rights to the limit. It tried to restrict the use or resale of patented products after they have already been sold,” added Case Collard, a partner at international law firm Dorsey & Whitney that specialists in IP disputes. “Imagine if you could not resell the patented iPhone that you purchased because Apple continued to enforce its patent rights after it sold the product. This is what Lexmark tried to do with its printer cartridges.” “The Supreme Court confirmed it applies to sales made in the US and abroad,” Collard added. “If a patent-holder like Lexmark wants to limit the rights of a purchaser, perhaps they can do so under contract law, but once they have made a sale, they can no longer bring an action under the patents statutes.”

Ongoing Discussion

Source: [H]ardOCP – US Supreme Court Protects Consumers’ Right to Refill Ink Cartridges